# Newport (Isle of Wight) (UK Parliament constituency)

Newport was a parliamentary borough located in Newport (Isle of Wight), which was abolished in for the 1885 general election. It was occasionally referred to by the alternative name of Medina.
(Prior to the Reform Act 1832 there was also a separate Newport parliamentary borough in Cornwall.)

## History

The borough was first represented in the parliament of 1295, and returned two members of parliament (MPs) from 1584 to 1868. At the 1868 election the Second Reform Act reduced its representation to a single seat, and under the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 the constituency was abolished altogether with effect from the 1885 general election. Newport's re-enfranchisement in 1584, like that of the other Isle of Wight boroughs (Newtown and Yarmouth) seems to have been at the urging of the new Governor of the island, Sir George Carey, a relative of the Queen. In token of thanks, the borough granted him for life the right to nominate one of the two MPs – which seems to have been the reward he expected and the motive for his petition to the Queen in the first place.
Between 1807 and 1811 its two seats were held by two future Prime Ministers: Arthur Wellesley, later to become the Duke of Wellington (who also found himself elected to two other seats at the same time), and Henry Temple (later Lord Palmerston), who would go on to become one of the United Kingdom's most notable Prime Ministers. Palmerston's late father had been unable to convert his Irish title into a United Kingdom peerage, therefore the young politician was able to enter the Commons. The local patron arranging the deal was Sir Leonard Holmes, who made it a condition that they never visited the borough!
The borough was also represented by two other future Prime Ministers in the 1820s. George Canning was MP for Newport when appointed Prime Minister in 1827; however, under the law as it then stood a minister accepting office automatically vacated his seat and had to stand for re-election to the Commons, and Canning chose to stand at Seaford, a government pocket borough in Sussex, rather than fight Newport again. In the by-election that followed at Newport, the vacancy was filled by the election of the Honourable William Lamb, later 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose father had also represented the borough in the 1790s. However, Lamb remained MP for Newport for only two weeks before also being elected for Bletchingley, which he preferred to represent.
Before the Great Reform Act 1832, the right to vote was vested in the mayor and corporation (consisting of 11 aldermen and 12 burgesses). For much of the previous century the borough was "managed" for the government by the Holmes family, meaning that ministers could generally secure the election of their favoured candidates, but often only at the expense of considerable "gratuities" to the voters – in 1754, this apparently amounted to a payment of £600 for each candidate. The borough consisted of the parish of Newport and of Castle Hold in the parish of St Nicholas, thereby excluding that part of the town which extended over the boundary into Carisbrooke parish; this gave the borough a population of 4,398 in 1831. The 1832 reforms extended the borough to take in the rest of the town, raising the population to 6,700, though the electorate was still only 421.
Newport's representation was reduced from two members to one by the Second Reform Act for the 1868 general election, and abolished altogether in 1885, leaving the town represented as part of the Isle of Wight county constituency.

## Members of Parliament
### MPs 1584–1660

| Parliament | First member | Second member |
| 1584 | Sir Ralph Bourchier | Edmund Carey |
| 1586 | Richard Sutton | Richard Hardy |
| 1588 | Sir Edmund Carey | Richard Hardy |
| 1593 | William Cotton | Richard Huyshe |
| 1597 | William Cotton | Richard James |
| 1601 | Thomas Crompton | Richard James |
| 1604 | Richard James | John Ashdell |
| 1614 | Sir Richard Worsley, 1st Baronet | John Searle |
| 1621–1622 | Sir Richard Worsley, 1st Baronet died 1621 and replaced by Philip Fleming | Sir William Uvedale |
| 1624 | Philip Fleming | Christopher Brooke, sat for York and replaced by John Danvers |
| 1625 | Sir Nathaniel Rich | Philip Fleming |
| 1626 | Christopher Yelverton | Philip Fleming |
| 1628–1629 | Christopher Yelverton | Philip Fleming |
| 1629–1640 | No Parliaments summoned | No Parliaments summoned |
| 1640 (Apr) | The Viscount Falkland | Sir Henry Worsley, 2nd Baronet |
| 1640 (Nov) | The Viscount Falkland disabled to sit, September 1642 | Sir Henry Worsley, 2nd Baronet |
| 1645 | Sir Henry Worsley, 2nd Baronet excluded in Pride's Purge, December 1648 | William Stephens |
| 1653–1659 | Newport was unrepresented in the Barebones and First and Second Protectorate Parliaments | Newport was unrepresented in the Barebones and First and Second Protectorate Parliaments |
| 1659 | Thomas Boreman (of Broke) | Sir Robert Dillington, 2nd Baronet |
| 1659–1660 | Sir Henry Worsley, 2nd Baronet | William Stephens |

### MPs 1660–1868

| Election | First member | First member | First party | Second member | Second member | Second party |
| 1660 | | Robert Dillington | | | William Oglander | |
| 1661 | | William Glascock | | | William Oglander | |
| 1670 | | William Glascock | | | Sir Robert Dillington | |
| February 1679 | | Admiral Sir Robert Holmes | | | Sir Robert Dillington | |
| August 1679 | | John Leigh | | | Sir Robert Dillington | |
| 1685 | | Admiral Sir Robert Holmes | | | Sir William Stephens | |
| January 1689 | | Sir Robert Dillington | | | Sir William Stephens | |
| June 1689 | | Edward Dillington | | | Sir William Stephens | |
| 1690 | | Admiral Sir Robert Holmes | | | Sir William Stephens | |
| 1692 | | Brigadier Richard Leveson | | | Sir William Stephens | |
| November 1695 | | Brigadier The Lord Cutts | | | Sir Robert Cotton | |
| December 1695 | | Sir Henry Colt | | | Sir Robert Cotton | |
| 1698 | | Major-General The Lord Cutts | | | Sir Robert Cotton | |
| 1699 | | Henry Greenhill | | | Sir Robert Cotton | |
| January 1701 | | Major-General The Lord Cutts | | | Samuel Shepheard | |
| March 1701 | | Henry Greenhill | | | Samuel Shepheard | |
| December 1701 | | Major-General The Lord Cutts | | | Edward Richards | |
| March 1702 | | Colonel James Stanhope | Whig | | Edward Richards | |
| July 1702 | | Major-General The Lord Cutts | | | William Stephens | |
| 1707 | | Sir Tristram Dillington | | | William Stephens | |
| October 1710 | | Lieutenant-General John Richmond Webb | Tory | | William Stephens | |
| December 1710 | | Lieutenant-General William Seymour | | | William Stephens | |
| 1713 | | General John Richmond Webb | Tory | | William Stephens | |
| 1715 | | Anthony Morgan | | | William Stephens | |
| April 1717 | | Lieutenant-General James Stanhope | Whig | | William Stephens | |
| July 1717 | | Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Tristram Dillington | | | William Stephens | |
| 1721 | | Thomas Stanwix | | | William Stephens | |
| March 1722 | | Earl of March | | | The Lord Whitworth | |
| October 1722 | | Colonel Charles Cadogan | | | The Lord Whitworth | |
| 1726 | | Colonel Charles Cadogan | | | George Huxley | |
| January 1727 | | Sir William Willys | | | George Huxley | |
| August 1727 | | William Fortescue | | | George Huxley | |
| 1736 | | The Viscount Boyne | | | George Huxley | |
| May 1741 | | Anthony Chute | | | Monoux Cope | |
| July 1747 | | Captain Bluett Wallop | | | Thomas Lee Dummer | |
| 1749 | | Ralph Jenison | | | Thomas Lee Dummer | |
| 1758 | | Rear-Admiral Charles Holmes | | | Thomas Lee Dummer | |
| 1762 | | William Rawlinson Earle | | | Thomas Lee Dummer | |
| 1765 | | William Rawlinson Earle | | | Thomas Dummer | |
| 1768 | | John Eames | | | Hans Sloane | |
| 1773 | | Hon. John St. John | | | Hans Sloane | |
| 1774 | | Sir Richard Worsley | | | Hans Sloane | |
| 1780 | | Sir Richard Worsley | | | Hon. John St. John | |
| 1784 | | Edward Rushworth | | | Captain the Hon. Hugh Seymour-Conway | |
| 1786 | | Edward Rushworth | | | Hon. John Townshend | |
| January 1790 | | Edward Rushworth | | | George Byng | |
| June 1790 | | The Viscount Palmerston | | | The Viscount Melbourne | |
| 1793 | | The Viscount Palmerston | | | Peniston Lamb | |
| May 1796 | | Jervoise Clarke Jervoise | | | Edward Rushworth | |
| November 1796 | | William Hamilton Nisbet | | | Andrew Strahan | |
| 1800 | | Sir George Dallas | | | Andrew Strahan | |
| 1802 | | John Blackburn | | | Richard Gervas Ker | |
| 1806 | | Isaac Corry | | | Major General Sir John Doyle | |
| 1807 | | The Viscount Palmerston | Tory | | Sir Arthur Wellesley | Tory |
| 1809 | | The Viscount Palmerston | Tory | | Sir Leonard Worsley-Holmes | |
| 1811 | | Cecil Bisshopp | | | Sir Leonard Worsley-Holmes | |
| 1812 | | Richard Worsley-Holmes | | | Sir Leonard Worsley-Holmes | |
| 1814 | | John Delgarno | | | Sir Leonard Worsley-Holmes | |
| 1816 | | George Watson-Taylor | | | Sir Leonard Worsley-Holmes | |
| 1818 | | Charles Duncombe | | | Sir Leonard Worsley-Holmes | |
| 1825 | | Charles Duncombe | | | Hon. John Stuart | |
| 1826 | | George Canning | Tory | | Hon. William Scott | Tory |
| April 1827 | | Hon. William Lamb | Whig | | Hon. William Scott | Tory |
| May 1827 | | Spencer Perceval | Tory | | Hon. William Scott | Tory |
| 1830 | | Spencer Perceval | Tory | | Horace Twiss | Tory |
| 1831 | | William Mount | Tory | | James Joseph Hope-Vere | Tory |
| 1832 | | John Heywood Hawkins | Whig | | William Henry Ord | Whig |
| 1837 | | John Heywood Hawkins | Whig | | William John Blake | Whig |
| 1841 | | Charles Wykeham Martin | Conservative | | William Hamilton | Conservative |
| 1847 | | Charles Wykeham Martin | Peelite | | William Plowden | Peelite |
| 1852 | | William Biggs | Radical | | William Nathaniel Massey | Radical |
| February 1857 | | Robert Kennard | Conservative | | William Nathaniel Massey | Radical |
| March 1857 | | Charles Edward Mangles | Whig | | Charles Buxton | Whig |
| 1859 | | Robert Kennard | Conservative | | Philip Lybbe Powys | Conservative |
| 1865 | | Robert Kennard | Conservative | | Charles Wykeham Martin | Liberal |
| 1868 | Representation reduced to one member | Representation reduced to one member | Representation reduced to one member | Representation reduced to one member | Representation reduced to one member | Representation reduced to one member |

### MPs 1868–1885

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1868 | Charles Wykeham Martin | Liberal |
| | 1870 | Charles Clifford | Liberal |
| 1885 | 1885 | constituency abolished | constituency abolished |

## Election results
### Elections in the 1830s

General election 1830: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | Spencer Perceval | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Tory | Horace Twiss | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 24 | |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1831: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Tory | William Mount | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Tory | James Joseph Hope-Vere | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 24 | |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
| | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold | Tory hold |
General election 1832: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | John Heywood Hawkins | 216 | 36.4 |
| | Whig | William Henry Ord | 216 | 36.4 |
| | Tory | James Willoughby Gordon | 161 | 27.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 55 | 9.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 365 | 86.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 421 | |
| | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory |
| | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory | Whig gain from Tory |
General election 1835: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | William Henry Ord | 233 | 26.0 | −10.4 |
| | Whig | John Heywood Hawkins | 230 | 25.6 | −10.8 |
| | Conservative | James Willoughby Gordon | 229 | 25.5 | +11.9 |
| | Conservative | William Hamilton | 205 | 22.9 | +9.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1 | 0.1 | −9.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | c. 449 | c. 89.7 | c. +3.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 500 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −10.5 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | −10.7 | |
Ord was appointed as a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, requiring a by-election.
By-election, 27 April 1835: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Whig | William Henry Ord | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold | Whig hold |
General election 1837: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | John Heywood Hawkins | 265 | 26.3 | +0.7 |
| | Whig | William John Blake | 263 | 26.1 | +0.1 |
| | Conservative | Charles Wykeham Martin | 244 | 24.2 | −1.3 |
| | Conservative | William Hamilton | 236 | 23.4 | +0.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 19 | 1.9 | +1.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 506 | 79.9 | c. −9.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 633 | | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | +0.6 | |
| | Whig hold | Whig hold | Swing | +0.3 | |

### Elections in the 1840s

General election 1841: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Charles Wykeham Martin | 254 | 26.4 | +2.2 |
| | Conservative | William Hamilton | 252 | 26.2 | +2.8 |
| | Whig | Thomas Gisborne | 229 | 23.8 | −2.5 |
| | Whig | William John Blake | 226 | 23.5 | −2.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 23 | 2.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 485 | 64.7 | −15.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 750 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +2.4 | |
| | Conservative gain from Whig | Conservative gain from Whig | Swing | +2.7 | |
General election 1847: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Peelite | William Plowden | 262 | 26.1 | −0.1 |
| | Peelite | Charles Wykeham Martin | 252 | 25.1 | −1.3 |
| | Whig | William John Blake | 250 | 25.0 | +1.5 |
| | Whig | Charles Crompton | 238 | 23.8 | — |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2 | 0.1 | −2.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 501 (est) | 77.6 (est) | +12.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 646 | | |
| | Peelite gain from Conservative | Peelite gain from Conservative | Swing | −0.4 | |
| | Peelite gain from Conservative | Peelite gain from Conservative | Swing | −1.0 | |

### Elections in the 1850s

General election 1852: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Radical | William Biggs | 310 | 27.4 | +2.4 |
| | Radical | William Nathaniel Massey | 306 | 27.1 | +3.3 |
| | Peelite | Charles Wykeham Martin | 257 | 22.7 | −2.4 |
| | Peelite | William Plowden | 257 | 22.7 | −3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 49 | 4.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 565 (est) | 79.9 (est) | +2.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 707 | | |
| | Radical gain from Peelite | Radical gain from Peelite | Swing | +2.7 | |
| | Radical gain from Peelite | Radical gain from Peelite | Swing | +3.1 | |
Biggs resigned, causing a by-election.
By-election, 11 February 1857: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Kennard | 289 | 54.3 | +8.9 |
| | Radical | Charles Seely | 243 | 45.7 | −8.8 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 46 | 8.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 532 | 81.3 | +1.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 654 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Radical | Conservative gain from Radical | Swing | +8.9 | |
General election 1857: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Whig | Charles Edward Mangles | 305 | 26.8 | −0.6 |
| | Whig | Charles Buxton | 294 | 25.8 | −1.3 |
| | Conservative | Robert Kennard | 283 | 24.8 | +2.1 |
| | Conservative | William Anderson Rose | 257 | 22.6 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11 | 1.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 570 (est) | 87.1 (est) | +7.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 654 | | |
| | Whig gain from Radical | Whig gain from Radical | Swing | −0.8 | |
| | Whig gain from Radical | Whig gain from Radical | Swing | −1.2 | |
General election 1859: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Robert Kennard | 319 | 37.1 | +12.3 |
| | Conservative | Philip Lybbe Powys | 312 | 36.3 | +13.7 |
| | Liberal | Robert Charles | 228 | 26.5 | −26.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 84 | 9.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 544 (est) | 84.0 (est) | −3.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 647 | | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +12.7 | |
| | Conservative gain from Liberal | Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | +13.4 | |

### Elections in the 1860s

General election 1865: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Wykeham Martin | 309 | 36.5 | +10.0 |
| | Conservative | Robert Kennard | 307 | 36.3 | −0.8 |
| | Conservative | Auberon Herbert | 230 | 27.2 | −9.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 79 | 9.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 578 (est) | 89.8 (est) | +5.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 643 | | |
| | Liberal gain from Conservative | Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +10.0 | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | −2.9 | |
Seat reduced to one member
General election 1868: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Wykeham Martin | Unopposed | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 965 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Liberal hold |

### Elections in the 1870s

Martin's death caused a by-election.
By-election, 23 November 1870: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Clifford | 437 | 55.5 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Henry Martyn Kennard | 351 | 44.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 86 | 11.0 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 788 | 81.7 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 965 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |
General election 1874: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Clifford | 522 | 52.4 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Henry Robert Twyford | 475 | 47.6 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 47 | 4.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 997 | 85.5 | N/A |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,166 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | N/A | |

### Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: Newport :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Charles Clifford | 618 | 52.5 | +0.1 |
| | Conservative | Henry Robert Twyford | 560 | 47.5 | −0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 58 | 5.0 | +0.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,178 | 86.5 | +1.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 1,362 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | +0.1 | |